Railway couplers



P 1, 1964 K. v. LIVELSBERGER ETAL 3,146,895

RAILWAY COUPLERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 50, 1962 @iawss:

P 1, 1964 K. v. LIVELSBERGER ETAL 3,146,895

RAILWAY COUPLERS 112111291614 wazessr p 1964 K. v. LIVELSBERGER ETAL RAILWAY COUPLERS P 1, 1964 K. v. LIVELSBERGER ETAL 3,146,895

RAILWAY COUPLERS Filed July 30, 1962 5 Sheets-sheet 5 IN VEN TORS.

United States Patent 3,146,895 RAILWAY COUPLERS Kenneth V. Livelsherger and Norman H. Sudeck, Alliance,

()hio, assignors to Amsted Industries Incorporated, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of New Jersey Filed July 30, 1962, Ser. No. 213,425 9 Ciaims. (Cl. 213-144) This invention relates to railway couplers and more particularly to a bottom rotary operating coupler.

Heretofore, some types of automatic couplers have been provided with a knuckle thrower pivotally mounted on the coupler head for movement in a vertical plane. The present invention contemplates the provision of a knuckle thrower pivotally mounted on the coupler head for movement in a horizonal plane to thereby reduce the size of the coupler head, to increase the strength of the head, to simplify the head core, and to reduce the cost of manufacture.

The invention further contemplates the provision of an automatic railway coupler in which a rotor lever engages the lower end of a toggle pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the lower end of a lock lifter. During a knuckle throw operation, the top end of the toggle contacts the front face of the thrower arm upon movement of the lock to its lockset position, and further lifting of the toggle by the rotor lever causes the toggle to pivot the knuckle thrower in a direction to move the knuckle to full open position.

The invention further contemplates the provision of an automatic coupler in which the rotor lever is provided with a bridge to engage a safety lug on the toggle to provide an anti-creep arrangement adapted to prevent the lock from bouncing up due to certain conditions encountered in service.

The invention embodies other novel features, details of construction and arrangement of parts which are hereinafter set forth in the specification and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical section illustrating a railway coupler embodying features of the invention, the lock being shown in its locked position;

FIGURE 2 is a section corresponding to FIGURE 1 showing the lock in lockset position;

FIGURE 3 is a section corresponding to FIGURE 1 showing the knuckle in full open position;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional plan view showing the knuckle and lock in relation to the knuckle thrower;

FIGURE 5 is a section taken along the line 55 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a detail plan view showing the knuckle thrower;

FIGURE 7 is a side elevation of the knuckle thrower;

FIGURE 8 is a detail plan view showing the toggle;

FIGURE 9 is a side elevation of the toggle;

FIGURE 10 is an end elevation of same;

FIGURE 11 is a side elevation showing the lock lifter;

FIGURE 12 is a plan view of same;

FIGURE 13 is a section taken along the line 1313 of FIGURE 12.

Referring now to the drawings for a better understanding of the invention, the coupler is shown as comprising a head 2 projection from the forward end of a shank 3 and formed with vertically spaced pivot lugs 4 and 5 and a guard arm 6 having an inner face 7 which extends rearwardly to merge with a front face 8. A knuckle 9 is pivotally mounted between the pivot lugs 4 by means of a pivot pin 11 and is formed with a nose 12 and a tail 13.

A pair of spaced lugs 14 depend from the head rearwardly from a bottom opening 16 to support a trunnion Patented Sept. 1, 1964 ice 17. A rotor lever 13 is formed at one end thereof with a hook portion 19 to pivotally engage the trunnion 17, the other end of the lever being formed with an opening 21 to receive the lower end of a toggle 22 formed with an elongated slot 23 to receive a pin 24 mounted in aligned openings in the lever. A bridge 26 is provided on the free end of the lever for abutting engagement against a safety lug 27 formed on the toggle 22 to provide an anti-creep.

The toggle 22 is formed with an elongated recess 28 to receive the lower end of a lifter 29 which is pivotally connected to the medial portions of the toggle by a rivet SI. A jaw 32 is formed on the upper end of the lifter 29 to engage a bar 33 provided on a lock 34. A look leg 53 extends downwardly from the lock 34 for engagement against a lockset ledge 54 provided on the head 2.

A knuckle thrower 36 is formed with a pivot boss 37 journaled in a bearing opening formed in the head. As shown in FIGURE 1, the knuckle thrower is rotatable in a horizontal plane below the longitudinal center line of the coupler and comprises a knuckle actuating leg 33 and a lock seat leg 39 having a lock actuating surface 41 for engagement by the upper end 42 of the toggle.

When the coupler parts are in locked position, the lock 34 is seated upon a body lock rest 43, the lifter 29 is seated on the lock at 44 and on a body bridge 46, the pin 24 is disposed at the lower end of the lever slot 23, and the upper end of the toggle engages the lifter at 47. The rotor lever 13 is formed with an eye 48 to receive a hook portion 49 of a conventional operating rod 51, the lever having a lug 52 thereon for engagement by the hook portion 49 during rotation of the operating rod to unlock the coupler.

During use of the coupler in railway service, accidental unlocking of the coupler is prevented by engagement of the bridge 26 against the safety lug 27 provided on the toggle 22..

In the operation of the coupler thus shown and described, manual rotation of the operating rod 51 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 1, causes the lever I8 to pivot about the trunnion 17 to move the pin 24 to the upper end of the slot 23 in the toggle 22 and to move the bridge 26 out of engagement with the safety lug 27. During further rotational movement, the lever 18 acts through the toggle 22 and lifter 29 to raise the lock 34 from its locked position (see FIGURE 1) to its lockset position (see FIGURE 2) in which the lock leg 53 swings rearwardly by gravity and seats on the lockset ledge 54.

To unlock the coupler, the lever 18 is rotated from its position in FIGURE 2 to its upper position in FIG- URE 3. During such upward movement of the lever, the toggle 22 acts against the surface 41 to pivot the knuckle thrower 36 about the axis of the pivot boss 3'7 to cause the actuating leg 38 to pivot the knuckle 9 to full open position. The opening movement of the knuckle causes the knuckle tail at 56 to engage the under surface of the lock 34 at its forward end 57 to thereby pivot the lock in a clockwise direction to move the lock leg 53 forward from its seat on the lockset ledge 54'. The leg 53 then drops below the level of the lockset ledge 54, and the lock 34 then rests on the knuckle tail 13 ready to drop into locked position (see FIGURE 1) when the knuckle is moved to its closed position.

We claim:

1. In an automatic railway coupler, a head, a knuckle pivotally mounted on said head, a knuckle thrower pivotally mounted intermediate its ends for movement in a horizontal plane to engage and move said knuckle to open position, a rotor lever pivotally mounted on said head, means comprising a toggle connected at its lower end to said rotor lever to pivot said knuckle thrower in 3 a direction to move the knuckle to its open position, said toggle having a recess, and a lock lifter arranged in said recess and having its lower end pivotally connected to the medial portion of said toggle.

2. In an automatic railway coupler, a head, a knuckle pivotally mounted on said head, a knuckle thrower pivotally mounted intermediate its ends for movement in a horizontal plane to engage and move said knuckle to open position, a rotor lever pivotally mounted on said head, means comprising a toggle connected at its lower end to said rotor lever to pivot said knuckle thrower in a direction to move the knuckle to its open position, said toggle having a recess, a lock lifter arranged in said recess and having its lower end pivotally connected to the medial portion of said toggle, and an anti-creep lug on said toggle to engage said rotor lever against accidental pivotal movement.

3. In an automatic railway coupler, a head, a knuckle pivotally mounted on said head, a knuckle thrower pivotally mounted intermediate its ends for movement in a horizontal plane to engage and move said knuckle to open position, a rotor lever pivotally mounted on said head, means comprising a toggle connected at its lower end to said rotor lever to pivot said knuckle thrower in a direction to move the knuckle to its open position, said toggle having a recess, a lock lifter arranged in said recess and having its lower end pivotally connected to the medial portion of said toggle, said knuckle thrower having one leg engaging said knuckle and another leg engageable by the upper end of said toggle.

4. In an automatic railway coupler, a head, a knuckle pivotally mounted on said head, a knuckle thrower pivotally mounted intermediate its ends for movement in a horizontal plane to engage and move said knuckle to open position, a rotor lever pivotally mounted on said head, means comprising a toggle connected at its lower end to said rotor lever to pivot said knuckle thrower in a direction to move the knuckle to its open position, a lock lifter having its lower end pivotally connected to the medial portion of said toggle, and a lock pivotally mounted on the upper end of said lock litter and having a depending lockset leg for engagement against a lockset ledge on said head.

5. In an automatic railway coupler, a head, a knuckle pivotally mounted on said head, a knuckle thrower pivotally mounted intermediate its ends for movement in a horizontal plane to engage and move said knuckle to open position, a rotor lever pivotally mounted on said head, means comprising a toggle connected at its lower end to said rotor lever to pivot said knuckle thrower in a direction to move the knuckle to its open position, a lock lifter having its lower end pivotally connected to the medial portion of said toggle, a lock pivotally mounted on the upper end of said lock lifter, a lockset leg on said lock, and means on said head engaged by said lockset leg to support said lock, lock litter and toggle in lockset position.

6. In an automatic railway coupler, a head, a knuckle, pivotally mounted on said head, a knuckle thrower pivotally mounted intermediate its ends for movement in a horizontal plane to engage and move said knuckle to open position, a rotor lever pivotally mounted on said head, means comprising a toggle connected at its lower end to said rotor lever to pivot said knuckle thrower in neat-:

a direction to move the knuckle to its open position, a lock lifter having its lower end pivotally connected to the medial portion of said toggle, an anti-creep lug on said toggle to engage said rotor lever against accidental pivotal movement, said rotor lever having a bridge engageable with said anti-creep lug.

7. In an automatic railway coupler, a head, a knuckle pivotally mounted on said head, a knuckle thrower pivotally mounted intermediate its ends for movement in a horizontal plane to engage and move said knuckle to open position, a rotor lever pivotally mounted on said head, means comprising a toggle connected at its lower end to said rotor lever to pivot said knuckle thrower in a direction to move the knuckle to its open position, a lock lifter having its lower end pivotally connected to the medial portion of said toggle, said knuckle thrower having one leg engaging said knuckle and another leg engageable by the upper end of said toggle, and a lock pivotally mounted on the upper end of said lock lifter, said lock having a lockset leg adapted to engage a lockset ledge on said head.

8. In an automatic railway coupler, a head, a knuckle pivotally mounted on said head, a knuckle thrower pivotally mounted intermediate its ends for movement in a horizontal plane to engage and move said knuckle to open position, a rotor lever pivotally mounted on said head, means comprising a toggle connected at its lower end to said rotor lever to pivot said knuckle thrower in a direction to move the knuckle to its open position, a lock lifter having its lower end pivotally connected to the medial portion of said toggle, said knuckle thrower having one leg engaging said knuckle and another leg engageable by the upper end of said toggle, a lock pivotally mounted on the upper end of said lock lifter, and means including a lockset leg on said lock to support said lock, lock lifter and toggle in lockset position with the upper end of said toggle engaging said other leg of the knuckle thrower.

9. In an automatic railway coupler, a head, a knuckle pivotally mounted on said head, a knuckle thrower pivotally mounted intermediate its ends for movement in a horizontal plane to engage and move said knuckle to open position, a rotor lever pivotally mounted on said head, means comprising a toggle connected at its lower end to said rotor lever to pivot said knuckle thrower in a direction to move the knuckle to its open position, a lock lifter having its lower end pivotally connected to the medial portion of said toggle, said knuckle thrower having one leg engaging said knuckle and another leg engageable by the upper end of said toggle, a lock pivotally mounted on the upper end of said lock litter, and means to support said lock, lock lifter and toggle in lockset position with the upper end of said toggle engaging said other leg of the knuckle thrower, said support means comprising a lockset leg on said lock to engage a lockset ledge on said head.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,170,891 Bazeley Aug. 29, 1939 2,350,470 Metzger June 6, 1944 2,393,912 Kahler Jan. 29, 1946 2,747,750 Wolfe May 29, 1956 

9. IN AN AUTOMATIC RAILWAY COUPLER, A HEAD, A KNUCKLE PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID HEAD, A KNUCKLE THROWER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED INTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS FOR MOVEMENT IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE TO ENGAGE AND MOVE SAID KNUCKLE TO OPEN POSITION, A ROTOR LEVER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID HEAD, MEANS COMPRISING A TOGGLE CONNECTED AT ITS LOWER END TO SAID ROTOR LEVER TO PIVOT SAID KNUCKLE THROWER IN A DIRECTION TO MOVE THE KNUCKLE TO ITS OPEN POSITION, A LOCK LIFTER HAVING ITS LOWER END PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO THE MEDIAL PORTION OF SAID TOGGLE, SAID KNUCKLE THROWER HAVING ONE LEG ENGAGING SAID KNUCKLE AND ANOTHER LEG ENGAGEABLE BY THE UPPER END OF SAID TOGGLE, A LOCK PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON THE UPPER END OF SAID LOCK LIFTER, AND MEANS TO SUPPORT SAID LOCK, LOCK LIFTER AND TOGGLE IN LOCKSET POSITION WITH THE UPPER END OF SAID TOGGLE ENGAGING SAID OTHER LEG OF THE KNUCKLE THROWER, SAID SUPPORT MEANS COMPRISING A LOCKSET LEG ON SAID LOCK TO ENGAGE A LOCKSET LEDGE ON SAID HEAD. 